Night of the Gargoyles

Imagine this Prom scene: girl in sweet, demure, ripped gauzy dress walks in with Gothboy dressed to the nine's in Goth attire. Closer---the girl has a black teardrop tattoed beneath her eye. There, I have just introduced Eve Bunting, writer of sweet and bittersweet children's books: "The Wall," a Vietnam veteran takes his son to experience the Wall; "Smoky Nights," ethnic neighbors come together in this burning of L.A. during the '70's; "Dreaming of America," the story of one immigrant family arriving at Ellis Island; "I Love You, Too," a fabulous story of a daddy rabbit's and son's mutual love. And there is David Wiesner, artist extraordinaire with an edgy twist to his work: "Tuesday," frogs on lily pads flying everywhere; "Flotsam," a camera criss-crossing the oceans reflecting children across time and space; "June 29, 1999," science experiment gone really bizarre and involving aliens. "Night of the Gargoyles" merges these two Caldecott winners to create a phantasmagorical children's book. Eve has been infected with Goth--go, girl (not that I'm Goth, but it is a great Gothic sort of book). As a children's librarian, I always advise my student/children to look at the cover and every page in a children's book. You can count on creators of children's books "not to color in the lines," meaning they may begin the story anywhere: cover, end pages, half-title page, title page, or even page one. So we look first at the cover of "Night of the Gargoyles." Yep, they began there. One gargoyle has "awakened" and stares at us, almost as if we caught him in the act. Blood-red end pages (just inside front and back covers)--we'll come back to those, hey! a definition page--good, we need to know what a gargoyle is, title page with a regular gargoyle, page one--a really scary close-up of three stony gargoyles at the close of day. "till night comes"....three gargoyles stretch and yawn. "[G]argoyles creep on stubs of feet"... Wow, what evil looks, or is it my imagination? All these dark drawings are eerie, fantastic, and downright scary. In fact, I read this to my first graders and totally creeped them out. I showed them the book beforehand, told them it was really really scary and I could read another book. NOOOOO, read that one!! OK, if you get scared, go to the other room. My library is divided into two rooms. We have story time in one room and class in the other. As I read to these quaking children, hugging each other, the girls would jump up, scream, and run into the other room. Even some of the boys joined them. Then they would run back, sit down, scream, and do it again. Fun, fun, fun! It was delicious, scary fun. Of course, they all wanted to check out this book. The reaction of these children is surely a great indicator of just how wonderful this book is. Of course, you know your own child. The illustrations are graphically vivid in portraying these creatures in stony action. They annoy the cherubs in the fountain who have to spit water forever. The

This book is about how in the day gargoyles are still, dead like stone figures, but at night they live. They fly around and cause trouble. Then by morning there as dead looking as ever, till night comes. This book I think is a great kid's book. It's easy to understand, yet, there are hard words for them which will make them smarter, in the end I would give this book a five out of five stars.

Eve Bunting is not only one of the most prolific children's authors writing, she is also one of the best. Her poetic tale of NIGHT OF THE GARGOYLES is a darkly comical look at what happens at night when the sun goes down. Taking a cue from THE NUTCRACKER, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, and other famous "come to life" stories, Bunting weaves a poetic homage to the stone guardians about when and how they come to life and what they do when no one is looking. David Wiesner's magnificent black, white, and grey illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to the text. The youngest and most easily scared of readers may find the story too scary. However, older children and even adults can be entertained by and enjoy the "foolish" (mischievous) escapades of these ancient stone warriors.

Visions of frolicking gargoyles delighting in night, splish-splashing in watery fountains, and spooking unwanted humans tempt the senses of readers as Eve Bunting nimbly weaves her silvery text around these stony figures. Each page sets forth a new scene of the gargoyles' brief revelry before they are destined, once again, to return to "squat high on corners...empty eyes unblinking...". The text is intertwined from page to page with a lyrical yet unconscious rhythm, permeating each scene with a spookiness enhanced by the onminous repetition "till night comes". Wiesner's two-toned pastels soften the contrast of light to dark, enhancing the story's black and white ghostliness as the gargoyles come to life-lounging in trees, spewing water, and making faces at one another. His illustrations animate these "pock-marked" characters in a way that text alone cannot. Shadowy visages added to haunted expressions reveal an underlying tone whispering hints of the supernatural. Perfectly mysterious for reading out loud, this book will bewitch readers and listeners, school-age and beyond, with its timeless tale of the creepy-crawlies that come out at night.